In light of the recognition of the need for a new approach to immigrant integration policy in the European Union, policymakers and other actors are beginning to look at the role that origin countries can play in the integration process. This policy brief explores the transnational dynamics at work behind the scenes of integration policy, including wider sociopolitical factors in origin and destination countries.

While a number of major migrant-sending countries like Morocco and Turkey have started to take an active role in the integration of their migrants abroad, the role of subnational authorities has been overshadowed by diaspora engagement initiatives at the national level. This report investigates how the activities of origin countries' regional and local institutions may improve the lives of emigrants to Member States of the European Union.

While there is growing consensus on the value of immigrant integration support prior to departure, such initiatives generally have not fully realized their potential. This policy brief reviews promising examples of predeparture measures for labor market integration in Europe that are jointly designed and/or run by origin- and destination-country actors, illustrating their potential to help effectively address some of the most stubborn obstacles to successful integration.

Youth of a migrant background are over-represented among those who leave school early in the European Union. This policy brief discusses empirical findings, theoretical insights, and promising measures that may inform further policy action to address the disproportionately high level of early school leaving among students with a migrant background, which results from socioeconomic and other factors.

In a personal tribute published in the Migration Information Source, MPI's online journal, MPI President Emeritus Demetrios G. Papademetriou reflects on the life and career of Graeme Hugo, a world-renowned scholar and Director of the Australian Population and Migration Research Centre at the University of Adelaide, who died in January 2015.

Employment-oriented mentoring is increasingly recognized in Europe as a tool for advancing the labor market integration of disadvantaged individuals, including immigrants. This report highlights a number of relevant one-on-one mentoring practices in Europe and North America, focusing on the role of different initiators and stakeholders, forms of collaboration, methods, and target groups.

Use this data tool—referred to as “one addictive interactive map”—to examine immigrant populations by country of origin and destination. Find out how many Americans live in Mexico, how many Ukrainians in Russia, or Filipinos in Saudi Arabia, for example.

Immigration, Skills, and Mobility in the Transatlantic Labor Market looks at how governments can improve the recognition of foreign qualifications through domestic public policies and through international cooperation.

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Recent Activity

The global economic crisis and changing migration patterns in Europe bring up questions about how well immigrants are able to find employment and progress into better jobs over time. This overview report caps a series of six country case studies evaluating the employment outcomes for foreign-born workers during their first decade in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

This MPI Europe telebriefing, releasing the brief "Strengthening Refugee Protection and Meeting Challenges: The European Union’s Next Steps on Asylum," examines Europe's current reality with respect to migration and asylum and assesses the possibilities for future development of EU immigration policy.

With the European Council meeting in late June 2014 to adopt strategic guidelines on asylum and migration policy, amid strains resulting from Syrian refugee migration and other flows, this MPI Europe policy brief identifies challenges and proposes a forward course. The brief recommends increased engagement by Member States in practical cooperation as a way to strengthen implementation and consolidation of existing EU laws and achieve more consistent asylum decision-making.

In the absence of a policy plan to address the surge in unaccompanied child arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border, simplistic explanations and draconian “solutions” are already surfacing. In reality, the problem is enormously complex and there is no single policy approach that is going to bend the curve on unaccompanied child arrivals. This commentary explores possible ways forward.

This report analyzes the labor market integration of newcomers to Germany, who tend to have different national origins and higher levels of education than earlier waves of migrants. These new immigrants have had varying levels of success in finding employment and transitioning into higher-skilled jobs.

This edited volume from the World Health Organization (WHO), which includes chapters written by MPI researchers, examines country-level responses to the international movement of health-care workers, both before and after adoption of the WHO’s Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel.

This report analyzes the labor market integration of recent immigrants to the United Kingdom. During the 2000s, a large influx of labor from Eastern European countries transformed the United Kingdom's immigrant population and labor market. The report finds that over time, these new arrivals showed some progress in moving out of the lowest-skilled jobs.

A discussion with findings from an ORSAM report that evaluates the effect of the Syrian refugee crisis on Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq, as well as on the more than 3 million Syrians who have fled their homeland to become refugees in neighboring countries. The discussion focused on the social and economic impact of the refugees in Turkey, with remarks by the Director General of Turkey's state-run relief agency, AFAD.

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About the Program

MPI’s International Program acts as a policy laboratory for developing innovative, evidence-based, and politically feasible solutions to worldwide migration policy challenges.

From advising countries holding the rotating EU Presidency on migration and immigrant integration matters to crafting policy memos for national governments rethinking their border or citizenship policies, MPI’s International Program strives to inform ongoing policy debates in North and Central America, Europe, and Asia, as well as at the global level.

In the Spotlight

Rethinking European Identity in the Age of Migration

This panel discussion explores the factors driving societal discontent in Europe and the role played by immigration. Panelists include Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, and former UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke.

The Regional Migration Study Group

The Study Group was formed to develop and promote a longer-term vision of how to build a stronger social and economic foundation for the U.S., Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras through more effective and collaborative approaches to migration and human-capital development.

Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development: A Handbook

The user-friendly guide, a project of MPI and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), offers a strategic road map for governments to build a constructive relationship with diasporas and examines the success and failure of policies, programs, and initiatives undertaken to date.

Resources

Country Resources from MPI's Online JournalAs the main arbiters of where, when, and how people may cross borders, individual countries still hold most of the keys to the immigration and integration trajectories of increasingly diverse flows of migrants. Articles in the Migration Information Source catalogue and contextualize the migration experiences of more than 70 countries.

Media Resources

Experts

Demetrios G. Papademetriou is Co-Founder of MPI and President of Migration Policy Institute Europe.
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Elizabeth Collett is Director of Migration Policy Institute Europe and Senior Advisor to MPI's Transatlantic Council on Migration.
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